The Shopkeeper of Konoha

Robert, while sitting in the middle and the high seat, was looking around, and if one knew Robert well, one could see that he was checking out the women in the hall to fool around. Ned, who was sitting beside him, was kind of ashamed and felt bad. He had supported someone who was still in delusion that Lyanna was the love of his life.

While Lyanna was in love with someone else entirely and even had a child together. But Ned didn't regret his decision; it was because the Mad King was really out of his mind.

"Oh, great King. We present to you the finest our lands have to offer." Jon came forward and placed the box in front of the table. Robert took a sip out of his small goblet and looked at them with curiosity. Instead of talking with Jon and Arya, he turned to Ned and asked.

"Are these people you had been blabbering about? The one with the... What was it again? Ah yes, watches." Robert asked. Ned nodded. Robert's words ignited curiosity from both Joffrey and Queen Cersei.

"What is it, father?" Joffrey asked with a hint of curiosity in his tone. Robert didn't reply and hinted at Jon and Arya to open the box. Jon nodded and proceeded to open the box.

The box had several small velvet cushions inside it, and on each velvet cushion, there were small watches wrapped around them. The watches were golden in color and so shiny that one could mistake them for gold. Each watch was mindfully made, with its distinct dials and numbers being laid on them. One could even hear the very faint clicks of the dials, but the hall was too noisy for everyone to hear them.

Each of the watches was distinctly and differently made from the other.

"My King, these are the watches which can correctly calculate the time and tell you the time of the day wherever you go..." Jon came forward and explained how the watches worked and how he could always be able to tell the time.

Robert had gotten some vague information from Ded, but now looking at the golden watch in front of him made the 'ornament' more and more appealing. Jon and Arya then gave them to the rest of Robert's family. Arya's hand trembled a bit when she gave a present to Cersei and Joffrey.

After presenting the watches, Arya came forward with fine clothes that were beautifully dyed and had printed designs on them. Cersei was very much happy seeing the designs and wanted to try them after the banquet was over. Robert and Joffrey, of course, were more pleased with the watch.

Ned nudged Robert and said how these people would love to open a shop. Robert was going to approve, but before he could speak, Cersei said.

"King's Landing would be generous and welcome you to open your shop. There would be no tax levied on them for the next 5 years and will be allowed to sell in King's Landing, as long as you and your subordinates don't commit any crimes."

Robert was taken aback by this announcement. He wanted to negotiate the terms, but Cersei didn't leave any ground for that. He wanted to say no, but he felt it would be disrespectful and honestly he was drunk at the moment to even care.

Jon and Arya had a weird look in their eyes as they saw how easily Cersei had accepted the deal without any problems, and for some reason Loki, who had been watching all of this from afar, felt the same chill in his spine.

"Maybe I should go to the previous realm. It's getting dangerous." Loki murmured as he gulped down one jug of alcohol. Robert didn't speak more and got up to play with some of the women in the hall itself, while Cersei and the rest talked. Joffrey seemed to be enamored by his new watch and poked Jon a lot if he could get a few of those once they were in King's Landing.

Jon assured with a sweet smile and it brought a huge joy to Joffrey. Ned knew how uncomfortable Jon and Arya were in front of Joffrey and Cersei, so he ordered them to go down and enjoy the banquet. Arya thanked him and excused herself. The rest of the banquet went smoothly, with Cersei talking with Sansa, and indicated how Sansa and Joffrey would be a great match.

While she talked, she caught some glimpses of Loki from time to time; it was very subtle but Loki could feel it immediately, and even Jon noticed something was off. Only Arya was completely oblivious to the stares of Cersei.

The banquet ended with many drunk men, followed by many vomits outside the gate while the maids around went to work to clean up all the mess the men and women had created in the whole banquet.

Jon and Arya came out, and they were on their way to their shop with Loki when they heard a conversation coming from the side. It was between Jon (present) and Tyrion.

"Even Uncle Benji is late." Arya too spotted.

"We need to accelerate our work. Messing with timeline meant, they can be here faster than we expect." Arya said.

"And we have to handle the other queen beyond the sea," Jon added, hanging his head in shame.

The trio decided to quicken their efforts to navigate the complexities of the timeline and the consequences of their actions. Jon and Arya were aware that their interference had already caused some events to unfold differently, and they needed to be cautious to prevent any more significant alterations.

As they headed towards their shop, Loki chimed in, "I told you meddling with time is a messy business. You never know what might unfold."

Arya, determined to set things right, replied, "We can't afford any more mistakes. Let's focus on what we can control."